CHP investigates officer's on-duty shooting at Borderline as part of overall probe

Full video of Friday's press conference: Investigation confirms that a deputy shot at Borderline in November was killed by a bullet from a CHP rifle.
Ventura County Star

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Chief L.D. Maples, of the California Highway Patrol's Coastal Division, speaks at the Dec. 7 news conference explaining that a bullet that killed Ventura County sheriff's Sgt. Ron Helus at the Borderline Bar & Grill in November came from the rifle of a California Highway Patrol officer who responded to the shooting.(Photo: ANTHONY PLASCENCIA/THE STAR)Buy Photo

The California Highway Patrol officer who reportedly struck a Ventura County sheriff’s sergeant with a rifle round while responding to the Borderline Bar & Grill shooting was placed on limited duty in the immediate aftermath of the Nov. 7 incident and was cleared to return to full duty Nov. 13.

Lt. Ron Cohan, Moorpark-area CHP commander, said this week that the officer met with a mental health professional while on limited duty and was subsequently cleared to work his regular duties.

The officer was identified as Todd Barrett by Officer Marco Marin, a Moorpark-area CHP spokesman.

Cohan said the officer in the shooting was one of four California Highway Patrol officers who responded to the Thousand Oaks country music bar where 12 victims were fatally wounded, including Ventura County sheriff’s Sgt. Ron Helus.

Two CHP officers, including the one involved in the shooting, who were at a nearby traffic stop in Thousand Oaks responded almost immediately to the Borderline shooting, Cohan said. Two additional CHP officers would arrive within the first 15 minutes, he added.

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Chief Ventura County Medical Examiner Chris Young shares new information at Friday's news conference explaining that a bullet that killed Sgt. Ron Helus at the Borderline incident in November came from the rifle of a California Highway Patrol officer who responded to the shooting. ANTHONY PLASCENCIA/THE STAR

Special Agent Paul Delacourt, assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles field office, speaks at Friday's news conference explaining that a bullet that killed Sgt. Ron Helus at the Borderline incident in November came from the rifle of a California Highway Patrol officer who responded to the shooting. ANTHONY PLASCENCIA/THE STAR

Chief L.D. Maples, of the California Highway Patrol's Coastal Division, speaks at the Dec. 7 news conference explaining that a bullet that killed Ventura County sheriff's Sgt. Ron Helus at the Borderline Bar & Grill in November came from the rifle of a California Highway Patrol officer who responded to the shooting. ANTHONY PLASCENCIA/THE STAR

Chief Ventura County Medical Examiner Chris Young shares new information at Friday's news conference explaining that a bullet that killed Ventura County sheriff's Sgt. Ron Helus at the Borderline Bar & Grill in November came from the rifle of a California Highway Patrol officer who responded to the shooting. ANTHONY PLASCENCIA/THE STAR

Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub shares new information at Friday's news conference explaining that a bullet that killed Sgt. Ron Helus at the Borderline incident in November came from the rifle of a California Highway Patrol officer who responded to the shooting. ANTHONY PLASCENCIA/THE STAR

Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub shares new information at Friday's news conference explaining that a bullet that killed Sgt. Ron Helus at the Borderline incident in November came from the rifle of a California Highway Patrol officer who responded to the shooting. ANTHONY PLASCENCIA/THE STAR

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At some point, the officer and Helus entered the bar simultaneously and engaged in a firefight with the gunman, Ian David Long, 28.

At a news conference last week, Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub announced that based on FBI ballistic results, one shot from the CHP officer’s rifle was fatal for Helus, who was also struck by five rounds from Long. Long would later turn the handgun on himself.

Ventura County Chief Medical Examiner Christopher Young also said at the Dec. 7 news conference that the CHP rifle round struck Helus in the heart, causing the “most severe injury” to the sergeant.

CHP Coastal Division Chief L.D. Maples said then that the CHP officer first learned of his role in Helus’ death Dec. 6 and decided to take personal time off. This week, CHP officials refused to state whether the officer had returned to duty.

Ayub and other officials placed the blame for Helus’ death on the shoulders of Long alone.

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The Ventura County Sheriff remembers the life and heroism of Sgt. Ron Helus, a 29-year veteran of the force, who died trying to save people during the Thousand Oaks, California nightclub mass shooting.
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The existing probe

This week, Lt. Chris Armstrong, of the CHP’s Coastal Division, said the FBI’s findings did not prompt a new investigation but would instead be factored into CHP’s existing probe into the shooting.

“We are doing an administrative investigation that is coinciding with the Borderline shooting investigation,” he said.

The CHP’s investigation was launched immediately after the shooting occurred.

As to CHP training for active-shooter scenarios, officers are mandated to complete 16 hours of training in the field and must complete eight hours of active-shooter training annually, labeled as an “annual refresher.”

The CHP officer involved in the Borderline incident was in compliance with the agency’s standards, Armstrong said. The officer had completed his required training for 2018.

After the Nov. 7 shooting, Cohan said he offered paid time off to the four CHP officers who responded to the Borderline. The two officers who arrived first at the Borderline have both taken at least some time off, Cohan said.

Cohan said the CHP does not generally mandate time off for officers involved in on-duty shootings.

He said the practice of placing officers on limited duty and scheduling an appointment with a mental health professional is common for officers involved in on-duty shootings. Limited duty consists of work in the CHP office and not in the field.

The officer’s meeting with a mental health professional was meant as an “introductory visit” and is mandatory for officers to be cleared for full duty. The meeting is not meant as a mental health evaluation, Cohan said

Ventura County District Attorney Greg Totten also said the developments over the CHP officer’s bullet did not merit a new investigation by his agency into the mass shooting.

“It’s another fact that we will have to analyze,” Totten said Monday.

Friendly fire in the past

Incidents of fatal friendly fire or accidental killings by local law enforcement personnel have been rare.

In March 1996, an Oxnard Police Department SWAT team member was shot and killed by a fellow officer during a raid of a house that was later found to be empty.

In October 2012, Oxnard resident Alfonso Limon Jr., 21, was shot by multiple Oxnard police officers after he was reportedly mistaken for a shooting suspect.

Neither the officer involved in the 1996 incident nor the officers involved in the 2012 shooting faced criminal prosecution. The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office declined to file charges in each case.

In the Limon case, prosecutors found that the five officers who shot the 21-year-old had acted in self-defense.

Totten said that although no conclusions had been reached in the Borderline incident, similar legal principles regarding self-defense may come into play as the investigation moves ahead.